Sub Saharan Africa

Mali
Last reviewed: 25 February 2009

Country information

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Politics

Under a new Constitution adopted in 1992, Mali has a presidential system of government. The President serves a maximum of 2 terms of 5 years. After 2 terms in power, Konare stood down in 2002. Amadou Toumani Toure, the coup leader who handed over power in 1991, won the presidential election in that year. The legislative elections which followed marked the end of ADEMA's dominance over the political scene - no one party came out on top, and opposition parties have since been represented in the National Assembly. The 2002 elections were marred by difficulties, and one third of the results were initially annulled by the constitutional court. Ibrahim Boubacar Kieta (the leader of the RPM, popularly known as IBK), a losing presidential candidate and former prime minister, became head of the National Assembly. With no party political base, Toure formed coalition governments by bringing in people from a range of parties and technocrats from international organisations.

Presidential elections were held on April 29th 2007. Toure stood for re-election and won with 70% of the vote. Kieta again came second. The turnout was low, and the opposition contested the result, although observers from the regional organisation ECOWAS considered the poll credible. Legislative elections were held on 22 July 2007. The ruling coalition, the Alliance for Development and Progress (ADP), won 113 of the 147 seats, after the constitutional court had considered petitions from opposition parties contesting the validity of the results. The turn-out was low at around 32%. Following this electoral victory President Toure formed a new government headed by Modibo Sidibe, an experienced former official and minister.

In 1999, a programme of decentralisation was agreed, largely in response to the long-running Tuareg rebellions in the north of the country. 703 Communes, each with an elected mayor, were created with powers of both revenue collection and service delivery, although their ability to function has been hampered by lack of resources and capacity. In the first months of 2006 a small-scale Tuareg rebellion again broke out. This was initially resolved later in the year with the help of Algerian mediation. But a Tuareg faction, calling themselves the Democratic Alliance for Change (ADC) continue an anti-government insurrection in the north. Renewed fighting broke out in August and September 2007, in which a number of Malian troops were killed and around 30 taken hostage. Ten of these soldiers were released at the end of December.

Human rights

Mali's record on human rights is generally good. There is a free and active press, and a healthy NGO sector, largely in the capital. Mali's single TV station is state-owned, but there are several independent radio stations, some of them regional. The justice system is slow and inefficient but is generally regarded as independent.

Human Rights Annual Report 2006